Merkel met with the Russian Diaspora in Germany ahead of elections

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin on Wednesday a meeting with representatives of the 2.5-million-strong Russian Diaspora in Germany. This was reported on the official Internet page of the head of government of Germany.

“In the afternoon, Federal Chancellor has taken in the building of the Federal Chancellery representatives of the Russian Germans. The conversation touched on topical issues of the present time”, – said in a statement.

The new format of the dialogue

Earlier official representative of the Cabinet of Germany Steffen Seibert, addressing the meeting of Merkel with the Russian Germans, said that “at the level of the Chancellor, such meetings in previous years were not carried out”. He recalled that in decades to Germany from countries of the former USSR arrived approximately 2.4 million people.

“This is a significant group within the population of Germany. You need to talk to them about what they may be interested in”, – said the representative of the Cabinet. The conversation, which will take place four months before parliamentary elections in Germany, in his opinion, be sincere.

As reported by Reuters, who grew up in the GDR, Merkel in conversation with Russian Germans helped the Russian language. The head of government discussed with the delegates of the Diaspora problems of their integration into German society.
Information security

According to Reuters, the meeting also discussed the problems of information security. In particular, we are talking about high-profile case living in Germany Russian girls Lisa F. About the history of the 13-year-old girl born in the family of Russian Germans, in January 2016, said First channel of Russian television. With reference to the relatives of the Schoolgirls, he said that migrants allegedly committed against her violent actions, kidnapping her when she was walking to school in the Berlin district Marzahn.

The police denied this information. German media have accused Russia of manipulating the public opinion of Germany, and “Lisa” has become synonymous with “Russian propaganda.” A high-profile case expressed their views, the Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the press Secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov. The Russian side is urging people not to look for “behind-the-scenes plans” in the actions of Moscow in relation to living in Germany, a young Russian woman and not to exaggerate around the Russian Diaspora.
Parliamentary elections

Another one of those conversations began, according to Reuters, the upcoming September elections in the Bundestag. According to the Agency, the Russian Germans have historically supported the conservative forces, namely the Merkel-led party, the Christian democratic Union (CDU). A special role in the formation of a positive image of the CDU in the Russian Diaspora played Helmut Kohl, German Chancellor 1982-1998 in years, which was the unification of the country. Col facilitated the resettlement of millions of Germans from Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union to their ethnic homeland.

However, currently, many representatives of the Russian Diaspora give preference to the party of European “Alternative for Germany”, which often acts with extreme right rhetoric.